If the front office could get some affairs in order, the Vineyards could easily be a 5-star venue. The grounds, as stated in other reviews, are absolutely gorgeous. Well manicured, beautiful trees and wildflowers, a stonewalled pond with fountain, gravel roads, and not another building in sight! The venue itself is just gorgeous and a great stay as well. However, when dealing with the front office, expect some serious problems right off the bat.
If you want to get a hold of the manager, Kristy, don't expect to do it via phone. In fact, after the entire experience, I'm not sure why they even have a phone. The best, maybe only, way of getting a hold of her is via email. Another problem we encountered was coordinating an appointment to view the venue. This seemed to be an issue with our vendors as well. My fiancé, one year out from our actual wedding date, traveled to the venue on three occasions. The first, while she was on her way to the venue, Kristy canceled on her--via email. You would think on such short notice the courtesy of a phone call would be in order, but this place does not care much for phones. The second time, Kristy had left early, feeling ill, and my fiance waited in the pouring rain outside of the locked gate for an hour trying to get a hold of Kristy or anyone inside the venue. When Kristy finally responded to her emails, hours later, she apologized saying she left because she thought we had not "confirmed" the appointment for that day. The emails sent back and forth the day before seemed awfully like a confirmed appointment to us, but oh well. One should keep in mind that there does seem to be an issue of accountability with Kristy. It seems after every apology from her, there was a snide remark explaining how it was really more our fault than hers.
But also keep in mind that, in person, Kristy is very kind, very helpful, and very knowledgable about the venue. Also keep in mind, that it's clear that the owner of this venue--a former real estate developer I'm told--gives her zero help. He also writes up the contract for this place like he's still in the boardroom. Be prepared and bring a lawyer! It's 42 (most places no more than 5) pages long and basically states that if someone is hurt on the property and IT'S CLEARLY THE VENUE'S FAULT, they are still not liable. In fact, even on the contracts the vendors are required to sign, it states in no uncertain terms that they are not liable for anything even it it's their fault. We actually referred two people to this venue in the past year, both said no simply because of the contract. One of our vendors almost backed out two weeks before our wedding because of the contract, thank god they decided not to.
Despite everything, we couldn't say no. The venue was just too beautiful. The wedding itself went off without a hitch, all thanks to my bride, her parents, and a few others who set everything up, as well as our excellent vendors. Also, remember the while the venue is happy to setup the tables and chairs prior to the wedding, your family and friends are required to take everything down at the end of the night. If you want help from the staff during this, it costs extra.
Be advised, as she will tell you from day one, Kristy is not a wedding coordinator. Brides with their own wedding coordinators are the best candidates for this venue in my opinion. Dealing with all the normal stress of a wedding already, a bride needs someone to handle the extra stress of dealing with this venue. To be honest, the day of the wedding it felt to many of our guests that we were "squatters" who had outstayed their welcome in someone's home, rather than full-paying customers who had legally licensed the property for the entire day. The venue is beautiful, the grounds are amazing, the atmosphere romantic. Just be warned, on the day of the wedding you and your vendors are on their own.
Lastly, I want to stress one thing. Kristy is a kind person, I truly believe she is greatly overworked and understaffed at the Vineyards. Keep in mind, as far as we could tell, there is no one else there helping her. Maybe if there were at least one other person there to field customer requests/ questions and perform day-to-day operations, the venue could be run far more effectively. read more